Insights from Hillbilly Elegy by Vance and Obama’s Howard University Address

Introduction

In our modern-day society, a lack of motivation is a common problem. Many people simply do not have it in them to work on long and arduous homework, or to go through the difficult process of finding a job, or even sometimes to work on something they’re passionate about. There are many different reasons as to why this issue became normal, but I believe that one of the most important is a supposed lack of something or someone to inspire people to work harder, or even at all. However, I think that this is only because people aren’t looking around enough, and J.D. Vance, “a principal at a leading Silicon Valley investment firm,” and Barack Obama, “44th president of the United States, and the first African American to serve in the office,” both have tales that could very clearly inspire people to work harder and also make a case for how important inspiration really is. I believe that inspiration is not only vital in the modern day but also that “Hillbilly Elegy” and “Howard University Commencement Speech” each make a case for its importance in American society especially.

Analysis of Vance's Hillbilly Elegy and Obama's Howard University Commencement Speech

J.D. Vance’s “Hillbilly Elegy” was published by Harper and was printed by June 28th, 2016. Meanwhile, Obama’s “Howard University Commencement Speech” was performed on May 7th, also in 2016. The “Hillbilly Elegy” was a life story by J.D. Vance about his experiences growing up in Ohio and the struggles of his upbringing amongst economic and social issues, hoping to share his own life stories in order to show how these issues had caused many people’s lives to drastically change. Meanwhile, Barack Obama’s “Howard University Commencement Speech” is a hopeful, uplifting, and even comedic at times, speech that was given to inspire a group of graduating students to go on and achieve great things, as well as to speak about how much better the world is and could still be. Both works are vastly different in tone, composition, and even author, but one thing is common between both; they each make a case for inspiration as one of the most important factors in American society by showing how it helped them through hard times.

Barack Obama's Perspective

Barack Obama makes the argument for the importance of inspiration by referencing how far people of color have come and how it can inspire future generations to keep aspiring to do more. In his speech to the graduates of Howard University, he declares, “When I was graduating, the main black hero on TV was Mr. T. Rap and hip hop were counterculture, underground. [...] We’re no longer only entertainers, we’re producers, studio executives [...] we’re CEOs, we’re mayors, representatives, Presidents of the United States.” Through this, he speaks about how many African Americans have come so far from once being counter-culture entertainers, and how these achievements should inspire them to continue trying to aim for better positions in life, a sentiment which is clearly shown by the presence of three African American candidates in the running for the 2020 election. This shows that the journey toward equality and representation is ongoing, and the milestones achieved are stepping stones for future progress. Of course, the importance of inspiration is not just how it encourages others to aspire for greater heights, but also how it can be used to set expectations, as J.D. Vance elaborates on.

J.D. Vance's Perspective

J.D. Vance argues that inspiration should be the basis for expectations, but expectations should not be equal to that which they’re inspired by. As he mentions near the end of the excerpt, “I have watched some friends blossom into successful adults and others fall victim to the worst of Middletown’s temptations - what separates the successful from the unsuccessful are the expectations they had for their own lives.” (Vance, 266) In this quote, we can see Vance arguing how inspiration misconstrued as expectations can lead others astray, so they should remember to weigh their dreams against reality first. While being inspired to do as others throughout history have done is not inherently wrong, their merit should not be what we set our immediate expectations to; instead, we should accept that success must be made in small steps first, and that every single person is their own unique case that can’t be equated to someone else’s legacy wholesale. Of course, there are those who think that Vance himself is trying to equate most Americans' struggles to his own.

Criticism and Rebuttal

In recent years, critics have railed against what Vance has said; one Stanley Greenberg of The American Prospect even wrote an article about how we should unlearn the lessons of Hillbilly Elegy, saying that “The book's cascading errors begin with its failure to appreciate how exceptional Appalachian white history and culture actually are, and how dangerous it is to equate Vance's hillbillies with today’s white working class.” However, I believe that this very notion is reductive of the core messages; that, while they may be an outlier, the lives of so-called “hillbillies” are not meant to be wholesale equated to the American working class, but are rather meant to be an insight into one of its branches. Though I can agree that people have misconstrued this work to be seen as an example of the entire working class’ condition, I don’t believe that this was Vance’s intention. I think he merely wanted to share his story with the world so that people could see just how much of an impact inspiration had on his life, and how it could help others with theirs.

Conclusion

In conclusion, both “Hillbilly Elegy” and “Howard University Commencement Speech” make a strong case for the importance of inspiration in American society by using examples and teachings from their own life. Naturally, however, inspiration is not something only important to Americans. Around the world, there are those that are inspired to rebel against unfair conditions and corruption, such as in Iraq and Hong Kong, and there are those who need inspiration to rebel against injustice done against them, such as the starving people of North Korea. I believe that so long as these people continue to be inspired to rise to the top like Barack Obama wanted African Americans to be, but also keep their expectations in reality as warned by J.D. Vance, they will eventually achieve their aspiration of freedom and better conditions for their people as a whole. After all, even if they do not achieve their goals now, is it not the destiny of this generation to eventually inspire the next?

References

1. Vance, J.D. (2016). Hillbilly Elegy: A Memoir of a Family and Culture in Crisis. Harper.
2. Obama, B. (2016, May 7). Howard University Commencement Speech.
3. Greenberg, S. (n.d.). Unlearning the Lessons of Hillbilly Elegy. The American Prospect. Retrieved from [source URL]